Unexpected outcomes—A Story of Transformation

(NICARAGUA) When it finally rained in Nicaragua on the evening of August 26, it wasn’t a gentle patter of raindrops.

Over the course of an hour, more than five inches of rain poured down on the parched land along the Pacific coast of Nicaragua, and it was the cause of much celebration. An entire cropping season had gone by in which most farmers couldn’t plant at all because of drought. For the few farmers who did plant, the seed either didn’t germinate or the plants simply withered up for a lack of moisture. With this storm and the rain since then, everyone was hoping that the drought was over, and farmers could begin to plant their next crop. However, food reserves in most homes are extremely low, and many farmers didn’t have any seed left for planting because they had used it for food. Other families had already made the decision to send their able-bodied men to Costa Rica for work.

Our partner, the San Lucas Foundation, distributed seed to more than 400 families using funds from World Renew. I recall writing up the proposal for World Renew and asking the San Lucas Director Francisco Moraga, “How can we turn this crisis into an opportunity?” The proposal was quickly approved and implementation began. Finding a reliable source for purchasing the seeds took several weeks. On two occasions, the seed had to pass a germination test to be approved for purchase. Both times the germination rate was less than 40%, so we restarted the research process with locating another source. Finally in the north of the country, seed was purchased that met the criteria. Then the process for participant selection and seed distribution could begin.

Two weeks ago I met one of the farmers who received the distributed seeds, Juan Canales, and we walked through his fields just as his beans were ready to be harvested. Juan told us how the drought affected his family and community and what it is like watching your crops wither up and your food reserves dwindle to nothing. The beans that he will soon harvest will help, but his family’s future will continue to be precarious for the next six months in terms of food security.

“I know the drought has severely affected you,” I said, “but are there any redeeming things that you discovered because of the drought?” I hesitated to ask this question because I did not want to downplay the severity of the situation, but in my experience almost every project has unexpected outcomes.

To my surprise, both Juan and his neighbor who joined us on the walk, quickly began to share ways that the drought had changed their lives. It was obvious that they had already thought the question through.

Here are a few of their reflections:

The unity in the community was strengthened as they worked with the San Lucas Foundation on how to organize the seed distribution project. Even though some families were not eligible, the community members felt that the process was healthy.
Because of the seed shortage, a number of farmers managed to find seed varieties on their own that they traditionally did not cultivate. This is pushing farmers to diversify with local varieties that had been replaced by commercial ones over the last few years. These varieties might not be as high yielding, but they are more resilient in adverse growing conditions. Some farmers also found some black bean seeds at the market that are not traditionally consumed here and planted small fields of it.
All of the talk about climate change suddenly became real in this community. Residents are finding that they will have to take climate change adaptation seriously if they are going to continue farming in a new era of constant change in traditional precipitation patterns.
Some communities already had seed banks where farmers collectively store their seed before the drought, but this community did not. They now realize the importance of learning how to collectively select and conserve seed, especially in times of drought. Juan said that the community will organize their seed bank after the next harvest.
Conservation agriculture, a new cultivation method that World Renew is promoting, maximizes water conservation and it suddenly became a significant alternative in this area.
Finally, there was a new realization of the community members’ relationship with and dependence on God.

I want to share this with you as a testimony of the resilience of the Nicaraguan people. It also serves as a reminder that crises sometimes promote innovation in ways that we never imagined.